I have an annoying virus on my computer, part deux

[victor]

So I thought it was Norton playing me with the repeated virus warnings, I downloaded AVG free edition, which didn't detect it for a few weeks, but has, starting this morning. Annoying virus warnings pop up continuously, so I had to deactivate the program. Kind of sucks as my PC now has zero protection. I even know what file it is, but apparently you can't delete it because it's "being used". I wish Windows allowed you to delete ANY file, at ANY time, no matter what kind of shitstorm it causes in your system.

So AVG can't repair, delete or quarantine the file either, and I seem to be pretty fucked unless I reformat, which is something I REALLY don't want to do.

 

[Quantos Leap]

Have you tried starting windows in safe mode and then deleting the file?

If not, you should.

EDIT:

If that doesn't work, try this:

http://www.softwarepatch.com/tips/howto-delete-xp.html

 

[welsh]

yes, safe mode might help.

I had a similar problem recently, and my university tech support was saying that my anti-virus might have been missing the virus.

Try this-
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?productid=symhome&langid=ie&venid=sym

for Symantec's free sweeper. It might help.

Good luck

 

[Ratty Sr.]

Yeah, you have to restart the system in safe mode or with a boot disk. You can also open your registry and delete all suspicious entries under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->SOFTWARE->Microsoft->Windows->CurrentVersion->Run to stop the virus from loading on startup.

If none of it works, open the Task Manager, click on the Processes tab, close explorer.exe, click File->New Task and type in "cmd" to run command prompt. Then position yourself to the directory where the troublesome file is located and delete it.

 

[Tayl]

I wish Windows allowed you to delete ANY file, at ANY time, no matter what kind of shitstorm it causes in your system.

Yeah, because that wouldn't cause any problems with people deleting random system files in order to 'organize their computer' or anything. Yep. I'm sure no one would ever mess with stuff they don't understand.

Yep.

Anyways, to boot into safe mode reboot your machine and press the F8 key over and over until you hear your machine beep, and then choose "Safe Mode" from the menu that pops up. Then scan with that Norton tool or AVG. Just wanted to give instructions in case you've never done it before. I use AVG on my machine, and it has always worked flawlessly.

EDIT:

Yeah, you have to restart the system in safe mode or with a boot disk. You can also open your registry and delete all suspicious entries under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->SOFTWARE->Microsoft->Windows->CurrentVersion->Run to stop the virus from loading on startup.

Doesn't Start->Run->msconfig and then the Startup tab just list all programs that are starting up? Or does that not show everything?

Also, Spybot has a great tool for checking what loads on startup and it even provides info on a lot of it. So if you are unsure a lot of hte time it tells you whether or not a program loading on boot is good or bad.

 

[TheWesDude]

no such thing as msconfig in win2k

plus if you were smart enough to run windows on a fat32 partition, you can boot to win98 from bootdisk.com and do a dos delete of windows to reinstall.

 

[Lazarus Plus]

Use HijackThis.

It'll almost certainly find your problem. All you have to do is recognize it. Which their forum will help you to do if you don't know how.

It really is a great and FREE utility.

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/

 

[Tayl]

I never recommend Hijack This for people that aren't too good with computers. I tried it once, and it fucked up the person's computer...which I then had to fix.

It is a really good utility if you know what you are doing, though.

 

[MadDog]

a good solution is to switch to linux. as long as its not mainstream, you won't get viruses.

 

[Ratty Sr.]

a good solution is to switch to linux. as long as its not mainstream, you won't get viruses.

Uh... you're talking to a gamer here, MD.

 

[c0ldst33ltrs4u]

well I have a small suggestion, unfortunately it doesn't have much to do with repairing your computer now, it just might help you keep it clean in the future. Deep Freeze it. Of course you first have to format (wich I understand you don't want to do just yet) the whole thing, install Windows and any other programs you might need, update windows, making sure it's a clean update and when you have it all set up the way you like it deep freeze C:. that way even if you do get a virus all you have to do is reboot and all you nightmares are behind you, well that is the way it *should* work.
*results may vary.

 

[Ashmo]

a good solution is to switch to linux. as long as its not mainstream, you won't get viruses.

Uh... you're talking to a gamer here, MD.

Either you're lazy or stupid.

Otherwise you can play nearly everything on Linux (through WINE and WineX).

 

[Ratty Sr.]

Either you're lazy or stupid.

Otherwise you can play nearly everything on Linux (through WINE and WineX).

If you don't mind performance loss ranging from small to severe, then yes, you can play nearly (yes, *nearly*) everything on Linux.

To paraphrase Seymore Cray: Windows are like an orgasm. They are a lot better if you don't have to fake them.

 

[killaer]

Well..you shouldn't have been downloading all of that porn off of kazaa in the first place..

 

[MadDog]

Why don't you want to reformat? just back up your major copies. It is always good to wipe clean drives every 6 months or so anyway.